Illini's McLaurin a motivated motivator

Illini forward/center Nnanna Egwu (32) and teammate Sam McLaurin fight for a rebound during a game last month. (Nuccio DiNuzzo/Tribune photo)

As a young boy, Sam McLaurin's grandparents loaded him and his three siblings into the family van and drove around the seedier areas of Havana, Fla., outside Tallahassee.

Bobby McLaurin was painting a picture as he pointed out people he did not want his grandchildren to emulate. Some were people with problems like those of Sam's parents.

"I used to take them around and show them what the drug dealers and dope addicts and crackheads look like," Bobby McLaurin said. "We'd ride through and show them. 'Is this what you want to be like? This is it.' "

Those images, along with the memory of his parents' arrests when he was 5, helped shape Sam McLaurin, a senior forward for Illinois.

"As a kid, I was always determined not to be like my parents," he said. "I wanted something better. My grandma always said I was the one who would say when I was old enough, I was going to leave and not come back."

That drive led him to Illinois, where he transferred from Coastal Carolina as a fifth-year senior. McLaurin averages 4.5 points and 4.1 rebounds off the bench and makes coach John Groce gush.

"He makes plays on film and I say, 'Did he really do that?' " Groce said. "He deflects the ball, challenges shots, and those things are not on the stat sheet. His activity level is high. He makes winning plays, and that you cannot underestimate."

After only a few months on campus, the 6-foot-8 McLaurin, 23, was voted a captain by teammates. His leadership will be vital Saturday when No. 10 Illinois (12-0) faces No. 12 Missouri (9-1) in St. Louis.

A basketball hoop on their property was one way Bobby and Vienia McLaurin kept the kids nearby and out of trouble. Sam took to it quickly.

But it was not only basketball that kept McLaurin focused. His grandparents pushed academics, not allowing extracurricular activities if grades slipped.

Bobby McLaurin served in Vietnam as a combat medic and earned numerous honors, he said. Vienia has overcome breast cancer and a stroke.

Toughness and determination were family traits.

"All four (grandchildren) graduated with honors," Bobby said. "I didn't have to worry. They (kept up their grades) religiously."

McLaurin's brother Adontay works for the state of Florida. Zachary has less than four months left serving for the Army in Afghanistan. His sister Daphne is stationed with the Army in Oklahoma. McLaurin has said he hopes to pursue law school after receiving his master's degree.

"That's where it comes from, what you see on the court," he said of his upbringing. "Always fight and be a leader."

At 5, McLaurin saw police arrive at his home and arrest both of his parents on drug charges.

"I really didn't understand it at the time, not until I got older," McLaurin said. "They said they would be gone for a while."

His mother, Darnica Gilliam, said she was young and naive, selling drugs to help provide for her four children. Her children visited her in prison, but she understands she lost precious time.

She said she never hid her past from Sam.

"What happened to me, I don't want that to happen to them," said Gilliam, who works in customer service. "When you're young, you make dumb decisions. I told them, 'Be better than me and your father.' "

McLaurin was a two-time all-state selection at East Gadsen High School, where he played on the varsity as a freshman.

He set Coastal Carolina records for career field-goal percentage (61.8 percent) and blocked shots (155). Baylor and North Carolina State recruited him when he announced his transfer intentions, but he was drawn to Illinois.

Although not starting for the first time in his career, McLaurin said he thrives as a team motivator.

"As long as we're winning, then I'm doing something right," he said.

Since his parents' release, they have become reacquainted. But his identity formed while they were away, he said.

"I'm older," McLaurin said. "I'm a grown man now. I live my own life. All of my brothers and sisters are adults now. We all do well."